WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/34 
19 November 2010 
 (10-6206) 
  
  
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES 
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL (2010) 
 
 1. Since its last report to the General Council, th e Council for Trade in Services held six formal 
meetings, on 5 October 2009, 5 N ovember 2009, 11 February 2010, 28 April 2010, 30 June 2010 and 
30 September 2010.
1  During this period, the Council addressed the following matters. 
I. NOTIFICATIONS MADE TO THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO GATS 
ARTICLES III:3, V:7 AND VII:4 
2. At its meetings held on 5 October 2009, 5 Nove mber 2009, 11 February 2010, 28 April 2010, 
30 June 2010 and 30 Sept ember 2010, the Council for Trade in Services took note of the following 
notifications: 
(a) Notifications pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS 
 
India S/C/N/497-499 and S/C/N/543 New Zealand  S/C/N/503-507, and S/C/N/518-521 
Paraguay  S/C/N/510-511 
Albania  S/C/N/516 and S/C/N/528 China S/C/N/522-527, S/C/N/529-534, and S/C/N/564-566 Chile S/C/N/536 Australia S/C/N/540 and Corr.1, S/C/N/541-542 
Peru S/C/N/546-550 
Barbados S/C/N/552-556 Nicaragua S/C/N/561-562 Switzerland S/C/N/567-568 
 (b) Notifications pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS 
 
Nicaragua and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan,  Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu  S/C/N/500 Panama and the Separate Cu stoms Territory of Taiwan, 
 Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu  S/C/N/501 
Peru and Singapore S/C/N/502 
Peru and Canada  S/C/N/508 China and Macao, China S/C/N/265/Add.3 Colombia and Chile  S/C/N/509 Japan and Switzerland  S/C/N/512 
China and Hong Kong, China  S/C/N/264/Add.3 
Japan and Viet Nam  S/C/N/513 
                                                     
 
1 Reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/C/M/95 to 100, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report. S/C/34 
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  European Union and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia S/C/N/514 
European Union and Albania S/C/N/515 European Union and Croatia S/C/N/517 Honduras and Panama S/C/N/535 Peru and China S/C/N/537 
El Salvador, Honduras and the Separa te Customs Territory of Taiwan, 
 Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu  S/C/N/544 Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,  New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam S/C/N/545 China and Pakistan S/C/N/551 
European Union S/C/N/557 
Republic of Korea S/C/N/558-559 Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,  the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam S/C/N/560 
 
(c) Notifications pursuant to Article VII:4 of the GATS 
 
Australia S/C/N/538 United States S/C/N/539 
 
II. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER SECTION 18 OF THE PROTOCOL ON THE 
ACCESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
3. At its meeting held on 5 November 2009, th e Council for Trade in Services conducted and 
concluded the eighth transitional review of the implementation by China of its WTO commitments, 
pursuant to section 18 of the Protocol on the Accession of the People's Republic of China 
(WT/L/432).  The Council took note of the report of  the Committee on Trade in Financial Services 
(S/FIN/23), which formed part of the Council's repo rt on this matter to the General Council, contained 
in document S/C/33. 
III. COMPLIANCE WITH GATS NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
4. At its meetings held on 5 Oc tober 2009, 11 February 2010, 28 April 2010, 30 June 2010 and 
30 September 2010, the Council for Trade in Servi ces addressed the issue of compliance with GATS 
notification requirements.  At the April meeting, the Council requested the Secretariat to update its 
informal Note providing a statistical account of  the notifications made under relevant GATS 
provisions.  The revised Note (circulated in doc ument JOB(09)/10/Rev.2) was addressed at the 
meeting held on 30 June.  At the meeting held on 30 September 2010, the delegation of Switzerland 
drew attention to its proposal, contained in document S/C/W/297, and announced its intention of inviting Members to participate in an open-ended,  informal group to exchange experiences with 
regard to notifications. 
IV. SECTORAL AND MODAL DISCUSSIONS 
5. The Council for Trade in Services continued with its discussions on a number of services 
sectors and modes of supply, on the basis of a series of Background Notes it had requested the 
Secretariat to produce, by way of an update of similar Notes produced in 1998.   
6. At its meeting held on 5 October 2009, the Council considered the following Background 
Notes: 
Modes 1 and 2 (S/C/W/304) 
Mode 4 (S/C/W/301)  S/C/34 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Architectural services (S/C/W/303) 
Construction and related engineering services (S/C/W/302).   
 7. At the meeting held on 11 February 2010, the Council considered the following Background 
Notes: 
Audiovisual services (S/C/W/310 and Corr.1) 
Energy services (S/C/W/311). 
 8. At its meeting held on 28 April 2010, the Council considered the following Background 
Notes: 
 Financial services (S/C/W/312 and Corr.1) 
Education services (S/C/W/313) Mode 3 (S/C/W/314).   
 9. At its meeting held on 30 June 2010, the C ouncil considered the following Background 
Notes: 
Maritime transport services (S/C/W/315) 
Logistics services (S/C/W/317) Accountancy services (S/C/W/316)  Legal services (S/C/W/318). 
 
10. Finally, at the meeting of 30 September 2010, the Council considered the following 
Background Notes: 
Postal and courier services (S/C/W/319)  
Environmental services (S/C/W/320). 
 V. THIRD REVIEW OF MFN EXEMPTIONS – ORGANISATION OF WORK 
11. At its meeting held on 28 April 2010, the Council agreed that the third review of Article II 
(MFN) exemptions, which was to start no later than June 2010, would commence at the Council 
meeting of 30 June 2010.  Accordi ngly, on 30 June, the Council started the third review by discussing 
organisational issues.  It agreed that the review  would follow previous practice, with dedicated 
meetings, a sector-by-sector approach, a question- and-answer process and on the basis of updated 
documents to be prepared by the Secretariat.  The Council also decided to hold the first dedicated 
meeting during the November 2010 services cluster of meetings.  S/C/34 
Page 4  
 
  VI. WORK OF THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES 
12. The activities of the subsidiary bodies in 2010 ar e reflected in their r espective reports, which 
are annexed to this report, as follows:  
 Annex  I Report of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services (S/FIN/24) 
 Annex  II Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments (S/CSC/16) 
 Annex  III Report of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation (S/WPDR/13) 
 Annex  IV Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules (S/WPGR/20)   
 
 
_______________ 
  S/C/34 
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   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/FIN/24 
8 November 2010 
 (10-6001) 
  
   
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES TO 
THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2010) 
 
 1. Since its last Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Services (S/FIN/22), the Committee 
on Trade in Financial Services has held six formal  meetings and several informal meetings.  The 
reports of the formal meetings are contained in documents S/FIN/M/60 to 65.   
2. The Committee continued to monitor the status of acceptance of the Fifth Protocol to the 
GATS, which has yet to be accepted by Brazil,  Jamaica and the Philippines.  No progress was 
reported by these Members during this period.   
3. At its meeting on 2 November 2009, the Committe e carried out the eighth transitional review 
of the implementation by China of its WTO commitm ents and the related provisions of the Protocol 
on the Accession of the People's Republic of China (WT/L/432), pursuant to section 18 of this 
Protocol.  The report of that review is contained in document S/FIN/23.  At the same meeting, the 
Committee held a dedicated discussion on trade-related aspects of Islamic finance.  An informal Note 
prepared by the Secretariat, circulated as document JOB(09)/7 and Corr.1, served as background for the discussion. 
4. At the meeting on 26 April 2010, the Committee discussed a Background Note on financial 
services prepared by the Secretariat (issued  under double symbol S/FIN/W/73 and Corr.1, and 
S/C/W/312 and Corr.1).  The Note was part of the ongoing sectoral discussions in the Council for 
Trade in Services, but was also placed on the ag enda of the Committee upon Members' request.  It 
provides an overview of GATS provisions of particul ar relevance to financial services; analyzes 
GATS commitments and MFN exemptions; highlights the main trade barriers affecting the sector; 
reviews the long-term trends shaping the sector prio r to the financial crisis; and discusses main causes 
of the crisis, the remedial actions taken by gove rnments, and their impact on trade in financial 
services.  
5. On the basis of a proposal by the United Stat es, the Committee organized a seminar on trade 
in non-life insurance services, held on 28 June 2 010.  The event featured speakers from government, 
regulatory agencies, and the private sector.  It bene fited also from the participation of the Secretary-
General of the International Association of In surance Supervisors (IAIS).  The programme was 
divided into four sessions to address the following  topics: economic and commercial trends in the 
non-life insurance sector, regulatory aspects, national experiences with the liberalization of non-life 
insurance services, and challenges raised by the s upply of non-life insurance in foreign markets. 
6. Following an initial proposal by Argentina, Ec uador, India and South Africa, the Committee 
held a dedicated discussion on the financial crisis  and trade in financial services on 29 June 2010.  
The outline is contained in document JOB/SERV/9 and Add.1.  The purpose of that discussion was to allow Members to exchange information on their experiences, and to be informed about research S/C/34 
Page 6  
 
  activities carried out by other international organi zations.  The session was divided into two segments; 
one devoted to presentations by four internatio nal organizations (the Bank for International 
Settlements, the Financial Stability Board, the Inte rnational Monetary Fund, and the Organization for 
Economic Cooperation and Development), followed by  a Q&A session; and the second allowing for a 
discussion among Members.  The papers and other material presented by the invited international 
organizations was circulated to Memb ers in documents JOB/SERV/12 to 15.  
7. At its meeting on 29 September 2010, following a proposal by Pakistan (JOB(09)107), the 
Committee held a dedicated discussion on the "Impact of technological developments on regulatory and compliance aspects of banking and other fi nancial services under the GATS".  The outline is 
contained in an informal Note by the Chairp erson (JOB/SERV/20).  Issues discussed included the 
following:  the impact of technological innovation and related market tren ds on national financial 
services sectors, the regulatory and supervisory ch allenges raised by technological developments, the 
regulatory approaches adopted by Members with rega rd to the domestic supply of e-finance and the 
cross-border supply of financial services through electronic means, as well as scheduling and classification aspects.  A Note by the Secretaria t, circulated as S/FIN/ W/74, provide d background 
information on these issues. 
8. In addition, the Committee has been consideri ng recently a proposal by China to discuss the 
relationship between trade in fina ncial services and development.  
 
 
_______________ 
 
   S/C/34 
 Page 7 
 
 
   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/CSC/16 
10 November 2010 
 (10-6012) 
  
   
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2010) 
 
 1. Since its Annual Report of 2009 to the Counc il for Trade in Services, the Committee on 
Specific Commitments has held six formal m eetings:  on 8 October 2009, 6 November 2009, 
9 February 2010, 29 April 2010, 2 July 2010 and 28  September 2010.  During the reporting period, 
the Committee addressed three items :  the relationship between old and new commitments; scheduling 
issues; and classification issues.  The reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/CSC/M/50, S/CSC/M/51, S/CSC/M/52, and S/CSC/M/53, S/CSC/M/54 and S/CSC/M/55, which should be read in conjunction with this report.  
I. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OLD AND NEW COMMITMENTS 
2. The Committee continued to focus its discussions on the relationship between existing 
commitments currently in force and new commitm ents that would result from the Doha Round 
negotiations.  Four proposals from delegations cont ributed to the discussions.  The Secretariat, upon 
request, prepared a Background Note on past practice in incorporation and verification of the results 
of market access negotiations (S/CSC/W/55).  Member s continued to have divergent views on how to 
ensure that the level of existing commitments wo uld not be undermined after the new schedules 
entered into force.  The Committee also began to  consider the procedural issues relating to the 
verification exercise, based on the Secretariat's informal Note (JOB/SERV/21).   
II. SCHEDULING ISSUES 
3. The Committee briefly touched upon issues relate d to economic needs tests (ENTs), and upon 
request, the Secretariat updated the Background No te on ENTs (S/CSS/W/118) of 2001.  The update 
is contained in document S/CSS/W/118/Add.1.  There was no discussion on any other scheduling 
issues.    
III. CLASSIFICATION ISSUES 
4. Delegations supported the initiative of holding in formal discussions on classification issues, 
based on the Secretariat's sectoral Background Notes.   To facilitate the discussions, the Secretariat, 
upon request, prepared a compilation of the classifi cation issues raised in these Notes, which is 
contained in document JOB/SERV/22. 
_______________ 
 S/C/34 
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WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPDR/13 
8 November 2010 
 (10-5998) 
  
   
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2010) 
 
 1. Since the Annual Report of 2009
1, the Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held 
six formal meetings and several informal meetings.2 
2. In the period covered by this report, the Wo rking Party continued with its work on the 
development of a draft text of regulatory disciplines pursuant to GATS Article VI:4, as mandated by 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  Technical di scussions were undertaken on all  chapters of the 
Chairman's revised draft text of possible regulator y disciplines, as contained in the Room Document 
dated 20 March 2009. 
3. At the meeting of 9 October 2009, the focus was on the possible disciplines contained in the 
chapter on "Technical Standards".  In this re gard, Members made two proposals for additional 
disciplines.  The Chairman of the Working Pa rty also provided an account of the informal 
consultations which had taken place before the meeting, noting that further discussion on 
"Definitions" appeared necessary.   
4. The meeting of 11 November 2009 was devoted to a technical discussion of four chapters of 
the revised draft text namely that of: "Licensing Requirements"; "Licensing Procedures"; 
"Qualification Requirements"; and "Qualifica tion Procedures". A group of Members proposed 
merging chapters V-VIII of the revised draft text  into two chapters on Licensing Requirements and 
Qualification Requirements, and Licensing Procedures and Qualification Procedures, respectively.  Preliminary reactions at the meeting were generall y in favour of such an approach though certain 
concerns were expressed with rega rd to its potential effect on the overall architecture and substance of 
the disciplines.  
5. During the formal meeting of 2 February 2010,  technical discussions continued in informal 
mode with a focus on the "Development" chapter of th e revised draft text.   A revised version of the 
proposal on streamlining the chapters on Licensing and Qualification Require ments and Procedures 
was submitted.  Preliminary discussi ons were also held on text pro posals on appropriate language for 
paragraph 2 of the draft text. To assist Members to address outstanding issues, the Chairperson 
announced her intention to produce an Annotated Text which would reflect all proposals and text-
related views expressed over the last year.   The Secr etariat was also requested to provide an overview 
                                                     
 
1  S/WPDR/12, 2 October 2009. 
2 The reports of the meetings are contained in documents S/WPDR/M/42-46, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report.  For the meeting of 11 No vember 2009, all substantive discussions were conducted 
in informal mode.  A summary of this meeting can be found in the RD/SERV document series containing 
Chair's summaries, under the summary for the meeting of 20 November 2009.  S/C/34 
 Page 9 
 
 
  of cases, in which flexibility provisions that are c ontained in WTO agreements have been addressed in 
dispute settlement procedures. 3   
6. At the meeting of 27 April 2010, Members commented on the Annotated Text which had 
been circulated by the Chairperson as a Room  Document on 14 March 2010. The Annotated Text 
reflected for each paragraph of the Chairman's Ma rch 2009 draft text, sub sequent language proposals 
and text-related comments by Members, as well as  comments and suggestions by the Chairperson. 
The Annotated Text was generally considered to  provide a balanced and useful input to the 
negotiating process.  With regard to future work, there was broad agreement that the efforts of the 
Working Party should focus in the near term on cross-cutting technical issues.  
7. At the meeting of 1 July 2010, issues aris ing from the "Transparency" chapter of the 
Chairman's draft of March 2009, as well as the gene ral obligations containe d in paragraph 11 were 
discussed.  Based on the work plan presented by th e Chairman during the informal meeting of 16 
June, the Working Party agreed to conduct future discussions on a thematic basis, which would also 
allow for a discussion of cross-cutting issues.4  Members expressed openness to a proposal to organise 
a workshop on best regulatory practices at one of  the upcoming clusters and the Chairman was 
requested to consult on the parameters and timing of such an event 
8. At the meeting of 27 September 2010, the Ch airman expressed concern with the wide 
divergence among delegations concerning the ambition of domestic regulation disciplines.   He also 
noted that the decision to work on horizontal disci plines was not made to the exclusion of work on 
particular sectors, or specific regulatory problems, and encouraged Members to keep this possibility in 
mind.  During the meeting, delegations engage d in a detailed exchange on the various draft 
obligations on licensing and qualification requirement s and procedures, together with their relevant 
definitions.  As in the past, the proposal by a gr oup of Members to streamline chapters V-VIII of the 
Chairman's was received constructively, though se veral delegations noted inherent differences 
between licensing and qualification matters, and quest ioned whether all provisions lent themselves to 
harmonization.  Members supported the idea of or ganizing a workshop on regulatory practices.  In 
this regard, the Chairman indicated that he woul d be conducting further consultations on the precise 
objectives and format for the event, with a view to providing a clearer outline of the workshop.  
 
_______________ 
 
 
                                                      
3 The Secretariat circulated a No te with the requested content as  JOB/SERV/8 on 31 May 2010.  
Discussions of the Note was undertaken in informal mode at a subsequent meeting. 
4 Summary of the meeting of 16 June contained in the Chair's informal summary of 2 August 2010. S/C/34 
Page 10  
 
   
WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPGR/20 
8 November 2010 
 (10-6000) 
  
 
  
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON GATS RULES  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2010) 
 
 1. Since its last Annual Report to the Council fo r Trade in Services in 2009 (S/WPGR/19), the 
Working Party on GATS Rules held six formal  meetings: on 6 October 2009, 10 November 2009, 
1 February 2010, 27 April 2010, 1 July 2010 and 28 September 2010.
1     
2. During the latter part of 2009, as well as in 2010, the Working Party saw more focussed 
discussions on all three GATS Rules subjects.  In the area of subsidies, considerable effort has gone 
into reviving the Work Programme on Information Ex change.  The submissions currently on the table 
cover a significantly larger number of Members than  the information previously provided between 
1997 and 2005.  On government procurement, the Working Party has examined in greater detail the proposal for an Annex, and agreed to hold dedi cated discussions on the economic and developmental 
importance of government procurement in services.  While on emergency safeguard measures, several 
rounds of technical discussions have been conducte d on the definition of "domestic industry", and 
further work is envisaged on services statistics and data.  Details on the work undertaken on each of 
the GATS Rules subjects are provided below.  
I. NEGOTIATIONS ON EMERGENCY SAFEGUARD MEASURES (ARTICLE X) 
3. During the last two meetings of the Working Party in 2009, Members continued to examine 
the relevance of the concept of "domestic industry"  as treated under the anti-dumping, subsidies and 
safeguard agreements, to trade in services. In this connection, the Chairperson circulated an informal 
Note summarising past discussions on the definiti on of "domestic industry" (JOB(09)/95).  A 
Secretariat Note on "domestic industry" in the an ti-dumping, subsidies and safeguard agreements was 
also circulated in JOB(09)/146 and Corr.1.  Discussions amongst Members focused on how the 
criteria of territory, control and ownership, and re gistration, as contained in the proposed draft Annex 
on Article X Emergency Safeguard Measures could be  used to define "domestic industry".  The 
technical discussions helped to clarify certain concep ts and concerns with rega rd to the application of 
such criteria. 
4. In 2010, the delegations of Brunei Darussalam , Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, 
the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam proposed con tinuing with technical work.  Based on an earlier 
proposal, a presentation on the adequacy and availabil ity of services data and statistics with respect to 
emergency safeguards was proposed.  At the m eeting of 28 September 2010, the Working Party 
agreed to postpone this presentation until after the discussion in the Council for Trade in Services of 
an updated Secretariat Backgrou nd Note on international services statistics (S/C/W/27/Add.2).  
                                                     
 
1 The meeting reports are contained in documents S/WPGR/M/65 to 70.  S/C/34 
 Page 11 
 
 
  II. NEGOTIATIONS ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (ARTICLE XIII) 
5. During the reporting period covered by this Re port, the Working Party discussed in greater 
detail the proposed Annex on Government Procurem ent in Services (S/WPGR/W/54).  To facilitate 
Members' consideration of the proposal, the Chai rperson circulated an informal Note which 
synthesised past exchanges on government procuremen t and highlighted several issues for discussion 
(JOB(09)/114).  The delegation of the European Un ion provided a presentation of the procedural rules 
contained in its proposal, as well as the suggested  format for scheduling government procurement 
commitments.  Two rounds of informal discussions examined various aspects of the proposed Annex, 
including its relationship with the plurilate ral Agreement on Government Procurement.  
6. In recent months, the Working Party has b een considering a programme of dedicated 
discussions on the economic and developmental import ance of government procurement in services.   
At the meeting of 28 September 2010, a new proposal was circulated by the European Union proposing various topics, as well as the timing and organization of discussions on this subject over 
coming months.  The topics include the economi c importance of government procurement in 
developed and developing economies, the sharing of national experiences by Members on reforms in 
procurement practices, and conclusions for furthe r work.  The Working Party agreed to commence 
work on the first topic at the next cluster in N ovember with a presentation by an academic expert. 
III. NEGOTIATIONS ON SUBSIDIES (ARTICLE XV) 
7. In the area of subsidies, much time has been de voted to reviving the exchange of information 
as mandated by Article XV of the GATS.  In this connection, during 2009, the Chairperson circulated an informal Note recalling a previously proposed  definition of subsidies for the purpose of the 
information exchange (JOB(09)/96).  Various id eas for a work programme on information exchange 
and a possible working definition of subsidies were suggested by the Chairper son.  Following several 
rounds of consultations, the Work Programme on Info rmation Exchange on Subsidies as contained in 
JOB/SERV/1 was endorsed by the Working Party at the meeting of 1 February 2010.  Following the launch of the Work Programme, 15 Members (co unting the EU as one) have, so far, submitted 
information on their subsidy programmes.  The various submissions are contained in 
JOB/SERV/1/Add. 1 to Add. 9.
2  At the meeting of 28 September 2010, the Working Party agreed to 
conduct a dedicated discussion of the submissions at the next cluster in November, in accordance with 
the approach proposed by the Chairperson,  as contained in document JOB/SERV/24.  
8. During 2010, the Working Party also continued its consideration of other issues with respect 
to the negotiations mandated under Ar ticle XV.  At the meeting of 1 February 2010, the delegation of 
Switzerland presented a proposal for disciplines on export subsidies.  Preliminary discussions were 
undertaken with respect to the concept of such subsidies in services and the possible distortions 
created.  At the same meeting, the delegation of the United States submitted additional questions with 
regard to the identification of possible trad e-distortive effects of subsidies in services 
(S/WPGR/W/59).  
 
__________  
 
                                                      
2 Submissions were receive d from the delegations of Australia; Canada; the European Union;  Chile; 
Colombia; Hong Kong, China; India; Japan; Korea; Me xico; New Zealand; Peru; Tu rkey; Chinese Taipei; and 
the United States.